celebrate the Feast of Diwali in 5111

MEDAN - Residents of Indian descent in the city of Medan to celebrate the Feast of Diwali in 5111, the day Saturday (17/10). All citizens of Indian descent, whether they are Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists and Christians gathered with their families.

"Diwali is the Indian tradition. Although we are different religions, we still celebrate this tradition together," said Rojes, a descendant of Indian Tamil in Medan. On these holidays, they perform prayers together and apologized to each other.

Along with his extended family of different religions, Rojes gathered while enjoying various foods of India. Cane bread with goat curry sauce, which is omopodi pastries with cilantro seasoning, and a sweet murke into their meal at home.

They deliberately took the day off from work, and asked permission for their children who go to celebrate Diwali with family. Because until now, Deepavali has not become a national holiday. Unlike the Nyepi festival for Hindus in Bali or the celebration of Chinese Lunar New Year that has become a national holiday.

Hence, too, citizens of Indian descent in Medan hope the government can make it as a national holiday as it did in some countries. Even the Hindu organizations in Medan, Parisadha Hindu Dharma Indonesia, Medan city has appealed to local governments to make Hari Raya holiday Diwali as facultative.

Meanwhile, the Shri Mariamman Temple Jalan Kampung Madras Teuku Umar Medan, dozens of Hindus also celebrate Diwali. They were led by a pinandita (priest) who read the prayers in the ritual prayers. A female dancers also performed classical dance brought Bardanataim.

According to the Chairman of Hindu Dharma Indonesia Parisadha Medan S Ananda Kumar, Diwali is derived from two Sanskrit words, namely 'Deepa' means light and 'avali' which means row. "So Diwali can be interpreted as rows of light, or a row of light. This is the day of victory," he explained.

This celebration of the people originally came from South India Ayodya. They bring a candle along the route of Rama and Shinta to greet him with joy. Rama and Shinta back to the kingdom of Ayodya from exile for 14 years, after a joint Hanuman defeated the kingdom of Lanka and his king Ravana.

There is another belief which says that Diwali is a celebration of the demise of Narakasura, the evil god holding the earth and heaven in the hands of Krishna. Or also known as the celebration of earth and heaven liberation from the grip Narakasura. But in essence, Diwali is the anniversary of the victory of Dharma (good) against Adharma (evil). So many people who think Diwali is a celebration of the Hindu religion.

Deepavali celebration sounds more held in North Sumatra, as in Medan, Binjai, Cliff High, and surrounding areas. In this area, approximately 50 thousand citizens of Indian origin living with indigenous people and other ethnic. In the Suharto era, the celebration of Diwali got banned instead.

The festival is usually celebrated for five consecutive days in the Hindu calendar month Ashwayuja, or between October and November according to Gregorian calendar. For Hindus themselves, they usually fasted for 30 days before the celebration of Diwali. In addition, they also provide danapunia (help) for people in need, cleaning up and ancestral graves. Then on the day, they perform prayers with the family at home or in the temple, and apologized to each other.